Safety in Lesotho What do other Racers need to know in order to be safe? Current safety protocols/precautions in place? Any relevant issues/concerns? Any precautionary suggestions?
People’s Opinions
Don’t walk around at night and travel in groups of 2 or more. Overall, the malls are Westernized and feel very safe. Would recommend keeping electronics concealed and only taking out small quantities of money at a time (ATMs are easily accessible). Use best judgement on outskirts of town.
Health
Health in Lesotho Any special health concerns?
People’s Opinions
Lesotho has the world’s second highest HIV/AIDS rate.
Visa Info
Visa Info in Lesotho Do you need one? Where did you get it? Cost? Resources/sources:
People’s Opinions
Currency Info
Currency Info in Lesotho Name of currency? Where can you exchange money?
People’s Opinions
Loti ($1 USD = M 14 as of August 2016)Vendors will often accept Rand (South African dollar) as well which has the same exchange rate. ATMs are through Bank of Lesotho and Ned Bank. Both are reliable; however, if you try to withdrawal towards the end of the month, be forewarned that the lines are extremely long due to Besotho pay-day.
Communication
Communication in Lesotho Did you have cell reception / Internet service? Where? Carrier / Provider, where did you get phones / SIM cards, cost? Country code?
People’s Opinions
Transportation
Transportation in Lesotho What transportation did you use to enter the country? Where were you coming from? What transportation was used to move throughout the country? Be sure to include the cost per person in USD and contact info if applicable.
People’s Opinions
We took a private bus from Magic Charters from Durban where debrief was into Masseru. They waited for all of us to get through the border and then drove us to the Masseru Mall. The only issue was that they didn’t accept an EFT so we had to pull out all of the cash for the bus and deposit into their bank account at Standard in Durban. The bus drivers were extremely nice and took great care of us!
Beware of certain bus companies out of South Africa on your travel into Lesotho. We went through South Africa Coach Charters, and they made us book a hotel and pay R200 to each driver for food in order to take us into Maseru. They made no mention of this in advance, and we had to scramble to take care of it or else they would not take us to our destination. SACC also tried to force us to change their booking to a different city after the drivers had their hotel booked, and overall they were rude and unhelpful. Future tours was recommended to us as a more trustworthy bus company to take to Lesotho.
Public transport or walking is the best way to go. Taxi’s can be referred to as “4+1” and 15 passenger vans are called “busses”. You should not pay more than M 26 for a full taxi if staying within Maseru (M 6.5 per person). If traveling long distances, you can hire a “bus” (we paid M 1,300 for 13 people to travel from Maseru to Semonkong and back). Other forms of long distance transportation include the Intercape (www.intercape.co.za) or Aranza Coaches (coachchartersa.co.ca).
Culture
Culture in Lesotho Anything Racers need to be aware/respectful of? Suggestions/Recommendations?
People’s Opinions
There are villages throughout Lesotho, each with their own chief. The chief knows who lives within his village which is how social workers often find the birth parent/parents of abandoned children. In order to adopt in Lesotho you must have permission from your chief to add another person to the village. Culturally, Basotho are very hospitable and operate on “Africa time”. If offered something to eat by a Basotho, it is respectful to accept, even if you do not have the intent of eating/finishing what was offered. Do not use words like silly or crazy – Both are taken literally and as insult.
Shipping / Mailing
Shipping / Mailing in Lesotho Company used and contact info? How did you get packages to them?
Tips
People’s Opinions
Pronounced LI-SOO-TOO, the language is Sesotho (SE-SOO-TOO) and the people are called Basotho (BA-SOO-TOO) or Masotho (MA-SOO-TOO). Some helpful words are;Hello – Lumela (DU-MEL-A)…to a woman – Lumela *Me (DU-MEL-A MAE)…to a man – Lumela *Ntate (DU-MEL-A N-DAT-TE)…to a girl – Lumela *Aussi (DU-MEL-A OW-SI)…to a boy – Lumela *Aboote (DU-MEL-A A-BOOT-E)*Plural put “BO” in front of the word = Bo Me (BON-ME)Prayer – TapelloHow are you – U phela joang (O PEL-A J-WONG)I am fine – Kea phela hanke (K PEL-A HAN-KE)Thank you – Kea leboha (K-A-LA-BO-HA or CALI-BO-HA)
Additional Info
Additional Info in Lesotho Anything we’ve left out? Any additional suggestions to make travel easier for others?